Everything about Sideburns totally explained
Sideburns (known colloquially as
side-whiskers, or
sideboards in the
United Kingdom) are patches of
facial hair grown on the sides of a
man's face, in front of the
ears. The term “sideburns” is a 19th century
bastardisation of the original
burnsides, named after
Ambrose Burnside, a man known for his unusual facial hairstyle that connected thick sideburns by way of a
moustache but left the chin
clean-shaven.
Variations
Sideburns are hardly restricted to any particular length or shape, and a number of variations can be found throughout history- they can be thin or wide, voluptuous or neatly-trimmed; be cropped flat, flare out, or end in a point; end at mid-ear or further down the jawline. The word 'Sideburns' is also a broad term that encompasses several other distinct types of facial hair, such as Mutton Chops and Friendly Mutton Chops.
Mutton Chops are sideburns named for their mutton-like shape as they extend down to the corner of the mouth, while
Friendly Mutton Chops connect both sideburns with a "friendly" moustache- a style of facial hair not unlike the one worn by Burnside himself.
Sideburns can be worn in combination with other styles of facial hair, such as the moustache or
goatee, but once they extend from ear to ear via the chin they cease to be sideburns and become a
beard, or
chin curtain.
History
After the clean-shaven period of the eighteenth century, sideburns, like beards, began to grow in popularity during the early
nineteenth century, a trend that eventually made its way to
Japan. Nineteenth century sideburns were often far more extravagant than those seen today, appearing more along the lines of what we know as modern-day mutton chops. As with beards, sideburns went quickly out of
fashion in the early
twentieth century, but made a comeback in the
1960s and
1970s among the younger generation. Sideburns became a symbol of the gay club scenes of
San Francisco and
Sydney, Australia. Because of their multifarious history, sideburns may be seen as either stuffily
Victorian and ultra-
conservative, or as a sign of 1970s-style
rebelliousness. Today sideburns enjoy an intermediate level of popularity, though groups of sideburn and beard aficionados have formed and flourished with the introduction of the internet.
Indigenous men of
Mexico, who shave their heads and wear their sideburns long, as well as
Colombians, who wear their sideburns long and typically don't have any other facial hair, are said to be wearing "
balcarrotas".
Gallery of sideburns
Image:Ibsen_photography.jpg|Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906)
Image:Fjoseph1.jpg|Franz Joseph I of Austria (1830-1916)
Image:Miguel_Grau_01.jpg|Miguel Grau Seminario (1834-1879)
Image:Julesferry.jpg|Jules Ferry (1832-1893)
Image:Gilbert-GS-Big.JPG|W. S. Gilbert (1836-1911)
Image:Richard_Wagner_by_Caesar_Willich_ca_1862.jpg|Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Image:Elvis_Presley_1970.jpg|Elvis Presley (1935-1977)
Image:At_Home_With_Evel_Knievel.jpg|Evel Knievel (1938-2007)
Further Information
Get more info on 'Sideburns'.
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